Harry and Meghan's '$20m a year lifestyle' causing palace worry, say experts
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are living a lifestyle that costs $20million a year - and it's causing worry behind the walls of Buckingham Palace, according to experts.
When the Sussexes sensationally quit their royal roles four years ago, they said they wanted to become financially independent and signed a string of lucrative multi-million deals with the likes of Netflix and Spotify, although this partnership was axed last year. One Netflix project was their controversial docuseries, which saw them take aim at their royal relatives, while Harry's memoir Spare, for which he would have made a large sum of money, also revealed personal information about royals including King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The couple during an appearance in New York last year (Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds)The Sussexes are required to fund their security by themselves, unlike when they were working royals and it was paid for by the taxpayer. They also have a $14.6million home in exclusive Montecito in California, which also has to be run and paid for. And according to royal expert Matt Wilkinson, there is nervousness at the palace about what the Sussexes will next do to make money, especially if their current deals aren't renewed and they want the same lifestyle.
The royal editor from The Sun told True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat: "They've got huge outgoings, security, mortgage, everything. When I've spoken to people out there, they've said they are obsessed with security, [and] they don't want to live in a smaller house, they absolutely love the house.
"I think they had a $9million dollar mortgage when they took it out that they still had to pay, and [Harry’s] had his money from Spotify, he’s had his money from Netflix. There is a worry behind the walls of Buckingham Palace of what happens when the money runs out … [and whether] he will at some stage have to find more money from other outlets."
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The entrace to Harry and Meghan's Montecito home (AFP via Getty Images)Meanwhile, Katie Nicholl, the royal editor of Vanity Fair laid bare Harry and Meghan's potential expenses and explained: "I was speaking to someone in Montecito who said you can't live in Montecito the way they're living without it costing about $20million a year."
Harry and Meghan signed a five-year deal with Netflix back in 2020 that was thought to be worth around £80million but speculation had been rife over whether the pair have a future working with the streaming giant. However, The Times reports that speaking at an event in Hollywood yesterday to promote new Netflix productions, the company's chief content officer Bela Bajaria said that the couple were working on "a couple of unscripted things" including a film and a series that are all in "very early development".
No other details were given by the exec, but the unscripted shows are believed to be documentaries, while the film could be the on-screen adaptation of the Carley Fortune novel Meet Me At The Lake. Meet Me at the Lake focuses on a couple who fall in love in their 30s and deals with themes of childhood trauma and post-natal depression. It's proven to be a hit with readers, selling 37,000 copies in its first week alone.
However, another deal the couple signed with fellow streaming giant Spotify soon after the Netflix deal was axed last year. Meghan hosted only one series as part of the deal – the podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, chatting to celebrities, historians and experts about the history of stereotypes levelled against women.
Tennis star Serena Williams, singer Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and actors Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu were among the guests. The joint statement from Archwell and Spotify said at the time: "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together." Harry and Meghan signed the lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£18 million), in late 2020.
The Royal Beat - available on True Royalty TV.
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